Lucus Liam: Ace Attorney of New York
by Solitaire Emerald
Summary: When Phoenix and Maya are asked to help Nick's cousin with her newest apprentice all the way in New York, can he help this man so new to the law bring justice to the light?


**This was based on a story I wrote in my Creative Writing class, except without the Phoenix Wright characters. So I decided to put them together and show it to you all.**

**I don't own anything except the characters and plot that I (sort of) created.**

Phoenix Wright and his assistant, Maya Fey, were walking through the chilly December streets of New York City. Phoenix had just gotten a call from his cousin, Elise Elite, another defense attorney who resided in New York, and said that she wanted him to show her apprentice, Lucus Liam, some ropes in the courtroom. Though Phoenix was surprised at first, he decided to agree and take a trip to New York City and to the court house. Elise had even offered to let them stay at her house for the time being.

"Wow, Nick!" Maya said pointing in eery direction, "There's the Empire State! There's Macy's! There's that big Christmas tree! There's-"

"Hold it, Maya," Phoenix said, "we can do some sightseeing later; right now, we've got a case underway." Right across the street they entered the courtroom, where they were promptly greeted by a stressed-looking woman with long black hair and blue eyes.

"Nick! And you must be Maya!" she said, "Thank goodness you're here!"

"What's wrong, Elise?" Phoenix asked.

"It turns out Lucus' first case is going to be a lot tougher than I thought. He's up against prosecutor Adrian Lockwell, one of the greatest prosecutors in the country. Even though he's the same age as Lucus, Lockwell's been in the field a lot longer. It looks like Lucus is going to need all the help he can get."

"We're on it," Phoenix said hanging up his coat, "when is he coming?"

"He's taking a cab as we speak. While we're waiting, I'll tell you about what's going on. My seventeen-year-old sister, Miranda, was accused of murdering Sledge Hammer, record holder of all the court records in the state. It was his wife, Stone Hammer, who accused her of the crime." Right as she finished the sentence, a man with brown hair in an odd, sort of spikey styled way entered the lobby and hung up his coat.

"Hey, he kind of reminds me of you," Maya said.

"Lucus, good to see you; this is my cousin, Phoenix Wright, and his assistant, Maya Fey. You're just in time to see the evidence." From her briefcase Elise pulled out two plastic bags and an envelope. "In this envelope is an autopsy of Mr. Hammer's death. It says he was hit in the head unconcious and then stabbed in the chest." She handed him a plastic bag. Inside it was a velvet box that looked as though it held some sort of jewelry. In the other bag was a heavy stone. "This was found at the crime scene; it looked pretty suspicious."

"But what about the box?" Maya asked.

"It had Miss Hammer's fingerprints on it and it was seen as suspicious as well."

"This is a big case for you, isn't it, Mr. Lockwell?" a reporter said. The four turned around and saw a man standing in front of a group of reporters with cameras flashing. He was tall and lean and wore a black suit that seemed more fitting for a fancy ball than a courtroom. Phoenix took notice that Lockwell didn't wear a winter coat. He didn't answer the reporter's question and simply stared blankly into the flashing lights. He felt their stares and turned around and looked at them with cold, unforgiving green eyes. His hair was pitch black and done very neatly, reminding Phoenix and Maya of Edgeworth. He even had a cravat tied to his neck. While Phoenix and Maya were quite used to such intimidation stares, Lucus quickly turned around, which was when Lockwell returned his attention to the cameras.

"Dang it," Lucus said, "If I can't look at him for ten seconds, how am I going to look at him for hours at a time?"

"Don't worry," Phoenix said, "once this is over everything will be easy."

"You really think so?"

"Hey, I've seen everything from spirits channeled to a burning bridge; this case is probably going to be one of your easiest. Now let's go."

They entered the courtroom and everyone took their respective spots. A few minutes later Miranda entered with two guards on either side. Phoenix remembered seeing pictures of Miranda. She was a trendy girl who always wore skirts and other fashionable clothes. She looked much different now without her bright smile and happy eyes.

"The prosecution is ready, your honor," Lockwell said.

"And... and the..." Lucus stammered.

"The defense is ready, your honor," Elise said.

"I call Stone Hammer to the stand," Lockwell said. Walking up to the stand was a woman with firey red hair and carrying tissues in her hand.

"Witness, state your name and occupation," the Judge said.

"Stone Hammer, former wife of Sledge Hammer," she said tearfully.

"Now then," Lockwell said, "tell us exactly what you saw."

"Well," she said choking back tears, "my husband was working late, about eleven P.M. when I got there, so I decided to see how he was doing. And as I approached the door, I noticed the lights were turned out. When I turned on the lights, that was when I saw... it. My husband's body and that girl trying to cover her tracks. But it was too late for her to get away. And that's it."

"Would the defense like to cross examine?" the Judge asked.

"Er... yeah," Lucus replied. "So, um, Ms. Hammer, what time was it when you found your husband?"

"Objection!" Lockwell shouted, "We have already heard this. I would find it wise for you to pay attention."

"Objection sustained," the Judge said, "Continue please."

"Lucus, let's think about this," Phoenix said, "sometimes you need to bluff."

"Bluff?" Lucus said.

"Yeah. Think about how something can be possible; something no one else noticed and see how it can fit together." Lucus took note of this and looked down at the evidence. The box had Stone's fingerprints on it, but even the hardest hit couldn't knock someone out. The stone, however, could, but there was no fingerprints on it. So how did this go together...? Of course!

"Ms. Hammer," Lucus said confidently, "could you tell me a little about this?" He held up the box for all to see.

"Yes," Stone said, "I was planning on giving it as a gift to my husband until... well, you know."

"You know, that would be big enough to hold this." He held up the heavy stone. "And it can knock a full grown man out with just the right hit. It doesn't have the fingerprints, but the box does."

"What are you trying to get at?" Maya asked.

"The only way Mr. Hammer could have been knocked out was if Ms. Hammer put the stone in the box and threw it at him. But she ran off so fast, she neglected to hide the evidence! Take that!" Lucus looked around and everyone looked impressed. Except Lockwell, who had a smug grin on his face.

"Very clever, Liam," he said, "but you forgot one detail; how was Mr. Hammer stabbed?" Lucus' confidence sank like a lead weight. He tried to say something, even look for help, but even Phoenix was at loss for words.

"Your honor," Lucus said, "I'd like a recess."

"Very well," the Judge said, "court will return to session in ten minutes."

**Read and review as always.**


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